By Simon Akoje

An Economist, Mr Moses Igbrude, has urged the Federal Government to subsidise more agricultural  inputs to boost food output and curb rise in inflation rate.

Igbrude, who is the Chief Executive Officer of  Ogu investment, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Tuesday  that  subsidising the cost of fertilisers and crops seedlings would ensure a better harvest.

He added that the Federal Government should  encourage more states to embrace mechanised  agriculture.

“If more states begin to adopt more modern agricultural approach they will grow based on their food comparative advantages.

“This is as  mechanised agricultural practice is the panacea to meet our food security and curb  importation,” he said.

According to him, the  Federal Government should continue to support the real sector of the economy in order to boost productivity and drive down inflation.

He also suggested that  monitory authorities should have a single exchange rate for the economy.

“ The current multiple exchange rate is fuelling inflation spikes  because of our import driven nature.

“ The rate gives room for speculators to thrive and it is quite inimical to investors to have confidence in the economy,” he said.

NAN reports that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) , which measures inflation , increased by 15.75 per cent  (year-on-year) in December 2020.

In its monthly report released on Friday, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), said that the increase was 0.86 per cent points higher than the rate recorded in November 2020 at 14.89 per cent.

The urban inflation also increased in December 2020 by 16.33 per cent (year-on-year) in December 2020 from 15.47 per cent recorded in November 2020,while the rural inflation rate increased by 15.20 per cent in December 2020. (NAN)

By Olubukola Aiyedogbon

The Kwara Governor, Malam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has launched a 10-year Agricultural Transformation Plan, designed to make Kwara food sufficient  by 2030.

“The essence of this document is to ensure food security, attract investments to the sector, create jobs, reduce poverty, and create inclusive growth by giving equal opportunities for women and girls to also benefit from everything that this plan has to offer.

“This week is one of the most exciting weeks, because I met the French Ambassador to Nigeria who has agreed to send a team to Kwara state. He is particularly interested in the agricultural sector, most especially the livestock sector”, he said at the inauguration  in Ilorin.

AbdulRazaq said that the plan was hinged on six pillars: crop production, finance, livestock, access to market, value chain, and cross-cutting programmes, in addition to detailed monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, to constantly interrogate the journey, while attention is also paid to sustainability.

The Governor said: “the document comes with measurable milestones to ensure faithful implementations by all the stakeholders.

“It is a 10-year plan which is based on verifiable data gathered from field research and extensive consultations with various stakeholders and experts in the sector.

“The plan spells out the opportunities and challenges in the agricultural sector in the state, and identifies the six pillars that are critical to the success of the plan”.

The Governor also said that he was working on an agreement with the Lagos state government on food production, adding that Kwara will invest N2bn in the agricultural sector, in partnership with the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).

“This will be anchored by a department at Kwara State University, Malette, which will be at Ilesha Baruba. This administration will conclude the construction of the campus.

“The campus has extensive land which I have visited, so NEPAD is investing in Kwara. I am also the chairman of the programme’s steering committee. It will make Kwara’s agriculture programme a huge success.

“I thank all the stakeholders, our partners and our team, for the success of this work. However, the most challenging part is ensuring successful implementation of the plan to make Kwara food sufficient by 2030.

“This is achievable if everyone plays their part. As an administration, we will mobilise every resource in support of this dream”, AbdulRazaq said.

Speaker of the Kwara State House of Assembly, Yakubu Salihu noted that the state administration was making efforts to improve rural road infrastructure, for easy movement of farm produce.

“This plan, if well implemented, will improve the state’s internally generated revenue, which is very important. With the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), about 700kms will be taken care of and the agricultural transformation plan will be a plus to us all in the state”, he said.

The Technical Assistant to the Governor on Agriculture, AbdulQowiy Olododo, explained that the plan was unique and comprehensive, as it captured both the enormous potentials in the sector as well as the actionable steps needed to harness such potentials and turn them into tangible benefits for all.

“In line with the vision of the Governor, this transformation plan has been designed to deliver unending benefits to the people of Kwara.

“The benefits include, but are not limited to, massive decent job creation for women and youths, improved nutrition, availability and affordability of quality food, rural infrastructure development, improved standard of living and economic growth”, he said.

The state Chairman of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Mr Muhammad Aboki, commended the AbdulRazaq-led administration for consulting and involving farmers in the plan and for developing the sector to attain food security.

“The governor’s words can be taken to the bank. We have absolute confidence in your leadership because of what you have demonstrated, not only in agriculture but in all spheres of economy in the state.

“All farmers in Kwara are following the trend of events and are very happy with your laudable programmes and projects”, the chairman said. (NAN)

By Bukola Adewumi
The Nigeria Agribusiness Register (NAR) said it would partner National Shea Products Association of Nigeria (NASPAN) to trade shea butter as commodity exchange for the Nation’s economic benefit.

Its founder, Mr Roland Oroh, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) on Friday in Abuja while discussing the benefits of trading of agricultural products internationally.

Oroh said shea nut kernel was one of the commodities that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recommended to be included as tradable commodity in Nigeria commodity exchanges.

He said it was agreed by SEC that part of its implementation of a 10-year Capital Market Master Plan was to constitute a technical committee on Commodities Trading Ecosystem.

One of the recommendations of the committee was to identify commodities with good supply base in Nigeria for inclusion as a tradable commodity in the Nigeria Commodity Exchanges.

According to him, Nigeria has the largest number of shea trees in the world and contributes over 60 per cent of the total shea nut produced annually in West Africa.

Oroh said: “Nigeria can supply shea nut kernel to local buyers and those in West Africa while developing a local processing industry.”

He said that a panel session held at the second agribusiness networking (Agnet) titled, “Trading Shea Nuts and Shea Butter in Commodity Exchanges in Nigeria: How to Make It Happen” noted that shea was a tradable commodity.

He said that the Representatives of AFEX and the Lagos Commodity & Futures Exchange were of the view that the benefit of trading shea would increase quality and sustainability of the product from the production areas.

Oroh said NASPAN, the Agribusiness Register, the Commodity Brokers Association of Nigeria and the nation’s commodity exchanges and other stakeholders would work to make shea trading on the nation’s exchanges a reality.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the NAR is supporting food and agribusiness investments in Nigeria and West Africa to scale and also turn impact-oriented investment intentions into actual investments.

They are the agribusiness investment facilitation arm of Commodities Development Initiative (CDI) a commercial NGO registered under the corporate laws of Nigeria.

NAR’s mission is to create impact and increase inclusion by supporting agribusiness start-ups and scale-ups with information, grants and access to impact capital and product markets.

This is through several products and services including the AgNet event, which brings fund providers and project promoters together to make commitments.

By Fortune Abang

The Federation of Snail Farmers, Processors and Marketers Association of Nigeria (FESMAN), on Thursday underscored the need for Nigerians to invest more in snail farming to ensure food security.

The National President of FESMAN, Mr Ebeh Ogoenyi, stressed the need in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

Ogoenyi said that the massive snail production was in line with the Federal Government’s policy on diversifying the economy, especially in the wake of COVID-19 and the unstable oil sector.

According to him, snail farming is a lucrative venture and also good for export, due to high demand for the product globally.

The national president said there was the need for more investments in its production to meet the demand.

“We have been mobilising people across the country to go into snail farming so that we can secure our society, create jobs, ensure food security and produce industrial raw materials.

“The market is there; it is only production that we need. We have been mobilising people to invest in it, in order to produce more.

“We have also been seeking support because when you are talking about diversification of the economy from oil, snail is number one to be considered,” he said.

Ogoenyi listed slime as one of the raw materials that could be derived from snail and used for cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

“You can use snail shell for the production of animal feed, because it contains more than 98 per cent calcium.

“You can also use it as an ornament. You can use it for floor tile and for automotive brake pad production and a lot more.

“As an association in charge of snail business in Nigeria, we are trying to ensure Nigerians participate in the production, because it is very lucrative,” he added.

NAN reports that the association, which consist of 764 members seeks to mass produce snail to ensure food security in Nigeria and industrial raw materials supply.   (NAN)

By Ifeanyi Olannye

Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa has injected N8 billion sourced from the Central Bank of Nigeria into the Agro-Industrial Park project in Aboh-Ogwashi in Aniocha South Local Government Area.

Mr Charles Aniagwu, the state Commissioner for Information, said this on Tuesday during an inspection tour of the project.

He added that the project partners were also coming in with their resources to fund and develop the park.

According to him, the agro-industrial park will be a catalyst for economic transformation in the state as it is a strong commitment of Okowa’s administration to grow a Delta economy not dependent on oil.

Aniagwu said when completed, the park would provide agro-processing value-chain services to farmers in the state.

“Delta has been known for oil but we have also said that this is the time to move beyond oil and that it is not going to be mere rhetoric.

“We have come here today to see for ourselves what we have done so far with respect to the Delta Agro-Industrial Park.

“We believe that by the time the park comes fully on stream, farmers within the environment and in different parts of the state will take advantage of the different factories and industries located in it for processing their produce.

“Our people lose value of their produce because of lack of processing facilities and I am glad that this industrial park will bring in additional value for our farmers when completed and inaugurated,” he said.

Aniagwu said that the park would also enhance the capacity of farmers who will take advantage of the mechanisation that would take place at the park.

He said that when the park is completed and started operations, it would take Delta far from what it used to be.

Aniagwu said that although companies were shutting down, people must still eat in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

He added that the government believed that the industrial park would be the next frontier for Delta.

On his part, Prof. Eric Eboh, Chief Job Creation Officer, Delta State Bureau for Job Creation, said that the project was well conceived to provide a one-stop-shop solution for farmers and industrialists in the state.

Eboh said that the essence of the project was to provide a safe operating space for agro-allied industries and factories to process agricultural raw materials into edible or finished products.

“Lack of processing facilities is one of the missing links in the agricultural value-chain, so it is expected that this Agro-Industrial Park will be a game changer for Delta.

“It is one of its kind in the country and it has great prospects for the turnaround of the agricultural economy of the state,’’ he said.

Eboh said that the park was a multi-purpose agro-industrial park which would accommodate agro-processing of different agricultural products whether root or tuber crops, grains and livestock, among others.

“In terms of the potential impact, it is humongous – social, economic and developmental – to the agricultural value-chain of Delta.

“The benefits of the project have been validated by National and International Financing Organisations and we are confident that this project will stand the test of time even after Okowa’s exit as governor,” he said.

The Project Coordinator, Mr Ran Yogev of Sequoia Group, said that the site is 220 hectares and was selected because of its nearness to the Ogwashi-Uku Dam.

He added that the engineering, procurement and construction of the project were expected to be completed within 18 months. (NAN).

By Ikenna Uwadileke

The Oil Palm Growers Association of Nigeria (OPGAN) on Monday called on the Federal Government to increase the level of funding for oil palm research and development.

OPGAN’s president, Mr Joe Onyiuke, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that such increase in funds would subsequently lead to increase in oil palm production in the country.

Onyiuke, who commended the Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR) on its efforts at repositioning the oil palm industry through research, said that the institute needed more funding.

“NIFOR is the number one institute for research on oil palm, and it is a glorious thing that Nigeria can today grow oil palm in the north, in Niger, Kaduna, Plateau and Taraba.

“So, what are we waiting for? Even with the small money it is receiving, NIFOR has done so much that today it has the tenera seedlings that within 36 months are already producing.

“NIFOR has been able to do that, and has increased yield per tonne such that the seedling can produce up to 36,000 tonnes; so we need massive support from the government.

“We need to get the necessary funding from the government to increase the production, and the multiplying effect is tremendous in terms of employment,’’ he said.

Onyiuke, who also noted the importance of research, added that research into the sector would support government’s effort at diversifying the economy thus, leading to less dependence on crude oil.

Available statistics showed that funding for NIFOR went down from N2.27 billion in 2010 to N1.57 billion in 2015, then, grew from N1.58 billion in 2016 to N1.94 billion in 2020.